THE DOCTORS by Martin L. Gross. 605 pages. Random House. $6.95.
The U.S. physician is "a man of mediocre intellect, trade-school mentality, limited interests and incomplete personality." He has trouble diagnosing a boil. Scalpel in hand, he needlessly whacks off the nearest tonsil; absentmindedly, he seals sponges, forceps, suture needles, thread, scissors and drainage tubes into surgical wounds. He takes pharmaceutical lessons from drug salesmen and writes illegible prescriptions that kill his patients. He soaks the sick, cheats on his income tax and, on his inviolable Wednesday afternoons at the country club,...